Perseverance: Getting Things Done!
Perseverance means doing something until it gets done. It's sticking with something even when it's hard. Perseverance teaches us that we can do hard things. To persevere through hard things, focus on all you have accomplished. It's a choice.
Watch the video and have a discussion with your class or someone you know. Below, there are some suggested questions or writing prompts.
I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It can get really cold there. Sometimes the snow is fun. You can build snowmen and have snowball fights. But there is one thing I don’t miss about the winters in Milwaukee - shoveling snow.
My mom made me shovel snow. I didn’t like it, but it taught me some very valuable lessons.
One, it taught me to obey momma! Because if momma said do it, you better do it.
Two, it taught me perseverance.
Perseverance means doing something until it gets done!
Learning perseverance didn’t make the work of shoveling snow any easier, but it showed me that I can do hard things. The great news is you can do hard things too.
One tip for helping you to persevere and do hard things is to look at what you have already done and not focus on what you haven’t done yet. When I was shoveling snow, I stopped looking at all of the snow that was left and I started looking back at all of the driveway that I had already shoveled. It motivated me to keep going.
As well as working hard, perseverance helped me learn how to work smart. I changed my shoveling strategy to make it a little easier.
When I was done shoveling I felt good! I had accomplished something hard, but through perseverance, I was able to finish the work.
So, will you commit to doing hard things? Let me know.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
What do you think about the definition of perseverance - doing things until they are done? Do you struggle with perseverance? In what ways do you struggle with perseverance?
Do you have a really hard chore or hard work that you have to do? How do you accomplish that work?
Do you believe you can do hard things? Why or why not? What kind of hard things can you do? What kind of hard things do you need help doing?
What motivates you to accomplish hard work?
What do you think of working hard AND working smart? What does it mean for you to work smart? What strategies do you have to accomplish hard work?
Will you commit to doing hard things? Let me know about it.
